Reaming apparatus



Sept. 17, 1935. o. F. EcKRoATE REAMING APPARATUS Filed'Jxfme 28, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l www l ENTOR 2 Ey f f mh l WW L1 ATTORNEY mgm.

Sept. 17, 1935. o. F. EcKRoATE REAMING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 28, 1933 INVENTOR @ga-J 2pk/fri- N N mw i.; ATToR'NEY Patented Sept. 17, 1935 'PATENT oFFicE BEAMING APPARATUS Otto F. Eckl'oate,` Chippewa. Township, Beaver County, Pa., assignor to The Babcock Wilcox Tube Company, West tion' of Pennsylvania Mayfield, Pa., a corpora- Application June 28, 1933, Serial No. 877,973

13Claims'.

This invention relates to reamers and reaming machines. The invention has been made especially with the idea of providing apparatus capable of reaming long metal tubes of relatively small diameter and by which a true uniform bore having a smooth surface free from scratches may be obtained rapidly and at comparatively small cost.

It has not been found possible to produce hot nished or cold drawn tubes with the `concen- -trlcity and uniformity of diameter required for many uses, and such tubes also lack the required smoothness of inside surface. A variation of as much as .031' in inside diameter is usual. In

l5 apparatus according to my invention, a single passage of the reamer gives to a usual hot ilnished or cold drawn tube a bore so true and uniform and with so smooth la surface as to satisfy such exacting requirements as those for working barrels for oil pumps without any grindl ing or polishing and with only a single pass of a burlshing tool. For example, tubes 18 to 20 feet long oi 1% average in side diameter are regularly reamed to an inside diameter of li" within a maximum tolerance of .0015 above and .0015 below.

While, as stated, the invention has beenmade especially for reaming small tubes, by which I l mean tubes having an inside diameter of from 1" or less up to 5 or 6 inches, apparatus according to the invention is not limitedto use in reaming such tubes but is adaptable for use in reaming larger tubes or bores of other articles.

v 'I'he invention comprises a reamer having a reaming tool or cutter mounted on the trailing end of a spindle which is rotatably mounted in and guided by a pilot or guide having two longitudinally spaced circumferential series of radially yielding resilient members which bear .1o-against the unreamed surface of the bore in advance of the cutter. A reaming machine according to the invention comprises, in combination with vthe reamer, means for mounting the tube to be reamed, a tension bar to one end of which the leading end of the reamer ,spindle is connected and which extends through the positioned tube from a suitable bar-holding means, and means for causing a relative rotary movement between the tube and the reaming tool and a relative longitudinal separating movement' between the tube and the`bar-holding means whereby the reamer is pulled through the tube with the reaming tool trailing its guide. Most desirably, the tube to be reamed is mounted on liliv a longitudinally movable carriage which in the reaming operation is moved at a controlled rate in the direction away from the bar-holding means, and the relative rotation betweenv the tube and the reaming tool is secured by rotating the tension bar and thereby the tool, the tube 5 being mounted stationary on its carriage. 'Ihe reamer will thus in effect be pulled through the tube by the bar against the resistance of the tool and the added resistance of the guide, and the driving bar and reamer spindle will thus be unl0 der tension which will have the eifect` of preventing vibration of these parts and eliminating chattering of the tool. By having the tool or cutter follow its guidingmeans instead of having it moved through the tube in advanceof its 15 guiding means, all the chips and particles 'produced by the cutter will be left behind the reamer and the lodging of particles betweeny the guide and the nished surface of the bore and consequent scoring of the surface is entirely avoided, 20 The guide or pilot serves to hold the reaming tool centered with respect to the average diameter of the bore, and because of the relatively wide longitudinal spacing of the resilient bore-engaging members, the effect on the tool of irregularities 25 of the unreamed bore is greatly` reduced so that such irregularities have little or no effect on the reamed bore.

A full understanding of the invention can best be given by a detailed description of a reamer 30 and reaming machine embodying the features of the invention in the preferred form. and such a description will now be given in connection with the accompanying drawings, illustrating such a preferred embodiment, and in which:- 35

Figs. 1 and la are complemental views in longitudinal vertical section of the reaming machine with the reamer in position prior to starting the reaming operation;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of the reamer; 4 0

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the reamer looking from the left in Fig. 2 as indicated by the line 4 4; and

Fig. 5 is an end viewy looking from the right of 45 Fig, 2 as indicated by the line 5 5.

Referring to the drawings, and rst to Figs.

2 to 5, the reamer as shown in these figures comprises a spindle I0 which carries the rotary reaming tool or cutter I I at its trailing end and has its 50 leading end formed for connection to a driving preferably be of bronze or other suitable nonferrous metal. Fitted on the bushing II to move therewith, preferably by means of a driving fit, is a sleeve I8 of spring steel or other suitable strong spring metal which with the bushing forms the guide or pilot of the reamer. The sleeve is counterbored at its ends for clearance from the bushing, and the outside of the sleeve is machined, except at the ends, solas to leave the extreme end portions of greater diameter than the intermediate portions of the sleeve, and the counterbored end portions are each slotted to form a circumferential series of spring fingers I'I. The end of the spindle Il Awhich carries the cutter has a flange 2l which provides a shoulder to bear against the end ci.' the bushing Il projecting beyond the end of the sleeve Il, and beyond the flange the spindle has a reduced extension or stud 2I to extend through a central opening in the cutter II and threaded to receive a nut 22 by which the cutter is held against the nat end of the spindle directly beyond the ange 2l. The spindle I0 has a central bore 2l from the end of which branch holes 2l extend at an angle for the discharge of cooling and lubricating nuid between the blades of the cutter. Passages 2l are provided through. the wall of the spindle for supplying the lubricating fluid to the bearing surfaces of the spindle and bushing, and the bushing may be provided with a longitudinal lubrication passage, as indicated by dotted lines in Pig. 3; and as shown at 2i, openings are also provided through the bushing and the sleeve I0 for the passage of lubricant to/the outside of the sleeve. The opening 26 through the bushing may be a circumferentially continuous opening provided bymaking thebushingintwopartsspacedsuitably apart.

'I'he spring ends of the guide sleeve Il formed by the spring iingers I1 are of a diameter sumciently larger than the inside diameter of the tube to be bored, usually 40 to 50 thousandths o! an inch larger, so that they have tobe squeezed and collapsed in drawing the reamer into the tube and will then be under sufiicient pressure so that because of their resiliency they will follow the irregularities in the bore of the tube. The spring fingers I1 should Abe stitf enough to offer sufficient resistance to hold the tool from being deflected from its path by the unequal resistance to its cutting action due to irregularities in the uncut bore of the tube. Because of the length of the guide sleeve, bearing only at its ends against the surface of the uncut bore, the deflection of the sleeve and of the spindle Il by irregularities of the bore are greatly minimized and have practically no or very slight effect on the tool and on the finished bore. The long bushing Il provides a good steady bearing for the spindle Il, and because of the resistance to relative longitudinal movement between the tube and reamer offered by the spring fingers I'I, supplementing the resistance of the reaming tool to forward movement, the driving bar I2, and the spindle Il which is pulled against the end of the bushing, are in tension during the cutting operation and the Ispindle flange 2| with the cutter clamped rigidly against it is held tightly against the end of the bushing IO. Vibration is thus reduced to a minimum and chattering of the tool is avoided.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and la, the tube I3 to be bored is mounted on a reciprocating bed or carriage Il which, as shown, has running wheels 3| running on rails on a main frame 32 and is guided and steadied by downwardly ex tending guides Il. The tube is held stationarily in place on the carriage by means of screw clamps Il. For reciprocating the carriage, a hydraulic cylinder II is mounted on the frame 32 beyond the carriage and its piston n is connected by 5 a rod I1 to a bracket Il depending from the carriage. The cylinder II has ports 20 and 4I, one at each end thereof, through which liquid from a suitable source of supply and controlled by usual and suitable means not shown may be forced 10 into the cylinder to move the piston and thereby the carriage .in either direction as desired and at the desired controlled rate.

The outer end of the driving bar I2 is detachably connected by means of a suitable coupling 45 15 to a driving spindle which may be mounted and driven lin any suitable manner. As shown, the spindle is journalled in a headstock I1 and driven by means of a worm 4I on a driving shaft I! meshing with a worm gear il on the spindle. 20 The spindle is held against longitudinal movement under the pull of the driving bar I2 by means of a thrust collar II. Although so far as appears from the drawings, the machine has only a single driving bar I2 and the carriage 30 car- 25 ries only a single tube to be reamed, in practice the machine has been made as a gang machine having a plurality of driving bars and a carriage for mounting a plurality of tubes. The headstock and driving gears shown are those of such 30 a gang machine, there being two of the drive vshafts Il, one of which drives spindles and driving bars alternating with those driven by the other.

'I'he driving bar I2 is a hollow tubular bar 35 through the bore of which lubricating fluid is supplied to the bore of the reamer spindle. For supplying lubricating vfluid to the outer end of the bar, the driving spindle is made tubular and a fluid supply tube l2 is provided extending 40 through the spindle l0 and through a stumng box 53 into a bore in a block M to which the fluid is supplied through a tube l5 leading from any suitable source of supply under suitable pressure. The fluid supply tube 52 has a collar M 45,

which bears against the end of the spindle, and the inner end of the tube is screw-threaded to take into the threaded end of a spindle cone l1 so that the tube may serve for tightening or releasing the cone. 50

'I'he reamer may be connected to the end of the driving bar by any suitable means. As shown, the reamer spindle Il has a reduced threaded end il which screws into the threaded end of the bore ot the driving bar. 55

For further stiffening and the driving bar I2, which may be of considerable length, a tube or sleeve 0l is provided which is placed over the bar and has its outer end rigidly held by stationary clamping means 60 by which the w sleeve is held against either longitudinal or rotary movement. The inner end of the sleeve 05 extends to the inner end of the driving bar, and at this point is held concentric with the bar by means of a bushing $1. Other'similar bushings 65 I1 between the sleeve and the bar are located one at the outer end of the sleeve and others at spaced points intermediate the ends of the sleeve. These bushings serve as bearings for the bar, and the sleeve thus serves to strengthen and 70 steady the bar, overcoming any tendency to vibration or whipping.

For guiding the reamer as the reaming tool nears the last end of the tube being reamed and the Pilot 0l' guide sleeve leaves the end of the 75.

sthesameinternaldiameterasthetubetobe reamed, a different guide tube being used for each diiierent size of tube reamed.

In the use of the reamer and machine, the tube tobereamedhavingbeenmounted on the carriageisecured by the clamps 3l, and a guide tube 1l of the proper size having been properly mounted in alignment with the tube, and the driving bnr iz having been thi-ended through theguidetubeandthetubetobereamedand being connected to the driving Il, and thereamerhavingbeeneonnectedtothe driving bar and the pilot or guide of the reamer having been drawn into the far end of the tube, and the reaming tool being then driven from the driving spindle 4l through the driving bar i2 to rotate at the proper rate, the carriage 3l is then moved at the proper rate to the right as the machine -is viewed in Fig. 1; by the introduction of pressure liquid through the inlet port l! to the vcylindei' 35. The tube is thus-moved longitudinally away 1 from the headstock Il, thereby causing in effect the reamer to be drawn through the tube. As the reamer approaches the last end of the tube, the pilot, as it leaves the end of the tube, enters the guide tube 1l and thus continues to guide the reaming tool andhold it centralized in the bore until the tool has passed completely through the tube. 'I'he movement of the carriage is then stopped and the reamed tube removed. 'lhe carriage is then moved in the opposite direction to back the reamer out of the guide tube 1l and .the reamer is disconnected from the driving bar.

A new tube to be reamed is mounted on the carriage, and the carriage having been moved far enough to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, sokthat the end of the driving bar extends beyond the far end of the tube, the reamer is again connected to the 'bar and the carriage is moved toy the openings 26 to lubricate the bearing surfaces y ofthe sleeve i6.

The rate at which the reamer is made to operate will vary according to the material of the tube being reamed. For reaming tubes of carbon steel and low alloy steel with cutters of high grade tool steel, it is the practice to revolve the cutting tool at a rate such as to give a cutting /speed of from 90to 1251 feet per minute, and to move the carriage at a rate to give a feed of from 0.006" to 0.009" per revolution of the tool. The actual R. P. M. of thetool consequently v'aries for different diameters and roughly decreases in direct proportion as the diameter of the tube increases. It is' desirable to keep the cutting having two longitudinally spaced circumferential n series of radially yielding resilient members to bear against the bore to be reamed, aspindle 'through the tube with the reaming tool trailing Yrstittnhiv mounted in said guide having its leed- 5 2. A reamer, comprising a cylindrical guide of a length greater than twice its diameter and having at each end a circumferential series of radially yielding resilient members to bear against the bore to be reamed, a spindle rotat- 10 ably mounted in said guide having at its trailing end a thrust collar to bear against the end of the guide and having its leading end formed for connection to a driving'bar, and a reaming cutter secured to the trailing end of said spindle ad- 15 jacent thethrust collar for trailing the guide in its movement through the bore beingreamed.

3. Al reamer, comprising a cylindrical guide sleeve of elastic metal of a length greater than twice its diameter and having its ends shaped 20 and slitted to form at each end of the sleeve a circumferential series of radially yielding resilient members to bear against the bore to be reamed, a spindle rotatably mounted in said guide sleeve having et its trailing end e thrust eener te beer 25 against the end of the guide sleeve and having its leading end formed for connection to a driving bar, and a reaming cutter secured to the trailing end of said spindle adjacent the thrust collar for trailing the guide sleeve in its movement 30 through the bore being reamed.

4. Tube reaming apparatus, comprising tube mounting means, a tension bar, bar-holding means' from which the bar is adapted to extend through a tube mounted on the tube mounting means, a reamer connected to the free end of said bar comprising guiding means for resilientiy engaging the unreamed bore of the tube and a reaming tool beyond but close to the trailing end of the guiding means, means for causing rela- 40 tive rotary movement between the tube and the reaming tool and relative longitudinal separating movement between the tube and the bar-holding means to cause the reamer to be pulled through the tube with the reaming tool trailing its guid- 45 ing means, the guiding means serving to guide the reaming tool and to provide bar-tensioning resistance to said relative longitudinal movement, and a guide having a cylindrical bore of the same internal diameter as the tube to be reamed mounted in alignment with the tube to be reamed 'and close to the end thereof to receive said guiding means as it leaves the tube.

5. Tube reaming apparatus, comprising a tube carriage, a driving bar, bar-holding and driving means from which the bar is adapted to extend through a tube mounted on the carriage, means for stiflening and steadying the driving bar comprising a ilxed sleeve enclosing the bar and spaced bushings between the bar and the sleeve, a reamer connected to the free end of said bar comprising a reaming tool and guiding means for resiliently engaging the unreamed bore of the tube, the reaming tool being rotatively mounted beyond but close to the trailing end of the guiding means, and means for giving the carriage a controlled movement away from the bar-holding and driving means to cause the reamer to be pulled its guiding means and to tension the driving bar.

6. A reamer, comprising a cylindrical guide formed by a journal bushing and a sleeve of elastic metal mounted on said bushing, the ends of the sleeve being of greater diameter than the 75 intermediate portion thereof and slitted to i'orm ateachendofthe sleeveacircumfermtialseries of radially yielding resilient members to bear againsttheboretobereamed,aspindleiour nalled in said bushing having a thrust collar at itstrailingendtobearagainsttheend'oithe bushing and having its leading end i'ormed for connection to a driving bar, and a reaming cuttersecuredonthetrailingendofthespindle against said thrust collar I or trailing the guide in its movement through the bore being reamed.

'1. A reamer, a cylindrical guide formed by a Journal bushing and a sleeve of elasticmetalmountedonsaidbushing,theendsoi thesleevebeingofgreaterdiameterthanthe intermediate portion thereof and slitted to form at each end of the sleeve a circumferential series. oi' radially yielding resilient members to bear against the bore to be reamed, a spindle journalledinsaidbushinghavingathrustcollarat its trailing end to-bear against the end of the bushing and having its leading end formed for connection to a driving har, and a reaming cutterter secured on the trailing end of the spindle beyond and close to said thrust collar for trailing the guide in its movement through the bore being reamed, the spindle being hollow and having discharge ducts from its bore for supplying lubricant to the reaming tool and to the bearing surfaces of the spindle and bushing.

8. Tube reaming apparatus, comprising tube mounting means, a tension bar, bar holding means from which the bar is adapted to extend through a tube mounted on the tube mounting means, a reamer connected to the free end of said bar comprising guiding means for resiliently engaging the lmreamed bore of the tube and a reaming tool beyond but close to the trailing end of the guiding means, and means for causing relative rotary movement between the tube and the reaming tool and relative longitudinal separating movement between the tube and the bar holding means to cause thereamer to be pulled through thetubewiththereamingtooltrailingits guiding means, the guiding means serving to guide the reaming tool and to provide bar-tensioning resistance to said relative longitudinal movement.

9. Tube reaming apparatus, comprising tube mounting means, a driving bar, bar holdingand driving means from which the bar is adapted to extend through a tube mounted on the tube mounting means, a reamer comprising a c'ylindrical guide having two longitudinally spaced circumferential series of radially yielding resilient members to bear against the unreamed bore of the tube and a spindle rotatably mounted in said guide the leading end of which is connected to the free end of the driving bar and a reaming cutter secured to the spindle beyond the trailing end of the guide, and means for causing a relative longitudinal separating movement between the tube and the bar holding and driving means tocausethereamertobepulledthroughthe tube with the reaming cutter trailing its guide, the guideservingtoguidethereamingcutterandto provide bar tensioning resistance to said relative longitudinal movement.

l0. Tube reaming apparatus, comprising tube 5 mounting means, a driving bar, bar holding and drivingmeanstromwhichthebarisadaptedto extendthrwghatubemoimtedonthetube mounting means, a reamer comprising -a cylin drlcal guide having'two longitudinally spaced cirl0 A cumierential series of radially yielding resilient members to bear against the unreamed bore of the tube and a spindle rotatably mounted in said guide the leading end of which is connected to the freeendofthedrivingbarandareamingcutter 15- securedl to the spindle beyond the trailing end oi the guide,l the driving bar and the spindle being tubular to provide a e ior lubricating and cooling liquid and-the spindle-having discharge ducts leading from its bore, means tor supplying 20 lubricating and cooling lluid to the bore of the driving bar, and means for; causing a relative longitudinal separating movement between the tube and the bar holding and driving means to cause the reamerto be pulled throughthe tube 25 but close to the trailing end of the guiding means, 35

and means for giving the 'carriage a controlled movement away from the bar holding and driving means to cause the reamer to be pulled through the tube with the reaming tool trailing its guiding means and to tension the driving bar. o'

l2. In a reaming apparatus, the combination oi' 4 a reamer comprising a cylindrical guide having two longitudinally spaced circumferential series of radially yielding resilient members to bear against the bore to be reamed and a spindle ro- 45 tatably mounted in said guide and a reaming tool' on-the spindle beyond the trailing end of the guide, a driving bar connected to the leading end of the spindle, holding and driving means for said bar, and means for lcausing a relative longitudinal separating movement between the article being reamed and the bar holding and driving means to cause the reamer to be pulled through the bore with the reaming tool trailing its guide.

13. In a reaming apparatus, the combination oi' a reamer comprising a guide and a spindle rotatably mounted in said guide and a reaming tool on said spindle beyond the end of the guide, means for causing relative rotary movement between the reaming tool and the article being reamed, and means for milling the reamer through the bore to be reamed with the reaming tool trailing the guide. l

O'I'IO F. ECKROATE. 

